Category: Midway Route SitReps

Day 11 – May 27 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

I was up early enough to hear the FNGs preparing for their ride into Arlington and then saw them off. What an honor for them to participate in this event. Memories from their visit will remain with them forever. Mine do, like it was yesterday. We were quite arriving. We were not hurried. We spoke in whispers if at all and looked with serious faces at those that spoke irreverently. I walked among many headstones and felt overwhelming peace and reverence. This is hallowed ground, in point of fact.

No morning mandatory meeting, no five minute horn, no Pledge of Allegiance which I miss and no chaplain’s prayer which I especially miss. I did say my own prayer however, one of thanks for helping me make it here safely as well as my platoon and all our company. About 0930 I headed over to the Lincoln Memorial with a friend and walked the grounds to take some photos. We found the vendors north of The Wall and checked them out. Did you find the Bayer Aspirin booth? If so, you know why I mention it. If not, you get to guess. I saw quite a few RFTW folks and talked with a few other people there also wandering the grounds. Some asked about Run For The Wall and I was happy to tell them about it. It started out a great day. I found many friends from all three routes and shared hellos and hugs. Just before our picture was taken a man stood and started singing God Bless America. We all joined in. I thought we sounded pretty good, but I didn’t have my hearing aids in either. Then on the bull horn “5 minutes”. Then 10 minutes later “2 minutes”. Then 5 minutes later we all posed but the photo had already been taken. Timing is everything. I wonder how it will turn out. “Like my photographer friend Ken says “It is what it is”.

With the group photo concluded. We all headed to The Wall. Although it wasn’t hot like other years, the line moved slow, but that’s the way it moves and that’s what we are here to do. I finished walking the wall for me and my good friend Paladin that couldn’t be here but wanted to and asked me to say high to his buddies on the Wall for him, which I did. At the end of the walk, I found my good friend Joe Hudson and he received my grateful hug and I his. I think I was late getting to the end of The Wall so unfortunately I didn’t get to turn any FNG pins. Got some great pics however. More hugs. Many “be safe” farewells. It started out a great day and ended a spectacular day at The Wall.

Charlie Mike – Run For The Wall. Let’s start making ready for 2018.

On a less somber note: Is it just me or is it impossible to find your way out of DC? I hear lots of folks say they take ubers or taxis because there’s no parking. Maybe that’s true, but maybe they don’t want to get lost like all the rest of us. It is my experience that you can get lost even if you have your GPS preprogrammed for a quick escape. I did finally escape, but nowhere near the time my GPS indicated. The ride in was “interesting”. The guy I rode in with knows what I’m talking about. Sorry, not givin’ this one away, unless you ask I guess. Happy Run For The Wall everyone. Until 2018. Remember to keep the shiny side up!

Day 11 is in the books.

We Ride For Those That Can’t

Tom “Twotone” Lystrup – Platoon 6 Leader / SitRep Writer / lystruptf@gmail.com
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Day 10 – May 27 – Ashland. VA to Washington DC

Well, here we are our final day of riding on this mission to The Wall. I don’t know to be happy or sad. It’s hard to know what to feel. I feel some of both. I don’t want it to be over. Anyone ready to start over?

I always love the prayers our chaplain’s corps provide for us. Thanking God for all his blessings and asking Him to continue to be with us as we ride. That our bikes may carry us safely to our destination, that our minds may be alert, that other motorists will notice us and be safe, that we may find healing today and every day, that we will remember why we are doing this and that we will give all praise and glory to God. I do thank God for the safety we have received from day to day. We have had extraordinary weather following us every day, thanks be to God. We have been safe. Many have found healing, some I know personally. Thank God for all these things and for the blessings we don’t even realize we received.
No road guards making it easy for us today. Bandit said it well, “If you can’t get to Arlington just 94 miles from here, how in the world do you expect to make it back home?

We held our platoon meetings like always. I don’t know what other platoon leaders talked about, but I imagine there were lots of thanks passed around, maybe some final words of encouragement and perhaps the common quote “this is what we’ve been training for the last 9 days”. In my platoon, I heard something I was not ready for, “you’ve been talking to us a lot for the last 9 days and now you’re going to shut up and we’re going to do the talking”. I just smiled and didn’t say a thing. They complimented our team’s leadership and then offered some items they had collected over the last several days for each of us. Lastly my platoon handed me a motorcycle flag of the United States Navy which they had all signed. I was stunned by my shipmates’s appreciation. I was speechless. All I could say was, “I don’t know what to say”. They said, “Then let’s get going”. Their gifts, their appreciation and their love will not be forgotten. My eyes were wet when I put my helmet on. I walked back through our ranks and shook hands and hugged all our riders. Now we take our final ride together to Arlington.

We are on our way to the US Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA under LEO escort. I’ve been there before a couple times. Only the Midway Route stops here. I’m so glad they do. It’s a great place to visit. We didn’t have all the time we’d like if we intended to ride into Arlington together, only about an hour. There is a giant leaning spire which is the center of and most prominent object of the museum. This spire represents the raising of the American Flag over the island of Iwo Jima. The museum is not yet complete. There are additional wings in the planning stage. Inside there are exhibits with multiple dioramas depicting battles fought from the Revolutionary war up through Vietnam. Future exhibits will include battles fought since Vietnam. Outside there are also some pathways around the grounds of the museum. When I walked inside I noticed right away a righteous looking chopper dedicated to the United States Marine Corps. While inside, I saw an armed Marine walking around the building observing. I asked him if I could talk with him a while. He said for a short time. He told me he was assigned to protect the museum and the people inside. He told me that the Commandant of the Marine Corps considered it only right that there should be Marine Corps presence inside their museum. That sounded completely appropriate to me. He was a sharp young man, willing to answer a few questions and very polite. He said there has never been any threat at the museum, but that if there were he and others with him were ready. He resumes his patrol.

I talked with a couple docents there. One asked me if I had been there before and I told him a couple times. He said that I’d probably seen most of what was here then except one thing and he pointed to a plane, an SBD Dauntless. This is a scout, dive bomber plane that was used during WWII, but this one was recovered several years ago from the bottom of Lake Michigan where it was used in training. My attention was focused on this man as he told me the story of repairing and hoisting the Dauntless to the position it now rests in. The story about this Dauntless Dive Bomber is here: http://potomaclocal.com/2016/02/09/plane-marine-museum-aircraft-lake-michigan/

In the center of the room there was a company of friends and family there to honor the retirement of a Marine Corps Master Sargent. It was an excellent service. Not long and it was time to depart. We got to our bikes and followed our LEO support. All traffic was blocked from the US Marine Corps Museum all the way to the host hotel in Arlington. We received this treatment last year and were grateful then, just as now. It was an amazing ride on the HOV lane of I-95 and the 66 to the hotel. Not a single car was on the highway anywhere. When we rolled into Arlington I announced over the CB “Charley Mike”. We rolled in and parked. More hugs and thanks were passed around our platoon. The ride was complete.

Later the Southern Route came in and then the Central Route. I went down to the main floor and found my buddy and great friend Joe “Gump” Hudson former POW OIF. More hugs.

Last year I wrote the following about my seeing Joe in the lobby. Standing next to him was a young lady in tears. Joe asked me if I had heard the story. I shook my head, no. He said this woman is a dear friend and he introduced me to her. Gump said this is one of the nurses that cared for me after I was rescued in Iraq. She recognized me here and came up and introduced herself to me. This is the first time I’ve seen her since I was released from captivity in Iraq. I hugged and thanked her for being there for my friend Joe.

Tomorrow is the day. A hard day for many of us. FNGs, ride to Arlington National Cemetery in peace. Remember it is a place of honor and hollowed ground. Reverence is the attitude of the day.

****Number of names in the wall for Washington D.C. (242) ****

Day 10 is in the books.

We Ride For Those That Can’t

Tom “Twotone” Lystrup – Platoon 6 Leader / SitRep Writer / lystruptf@gmail.com
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Day 9 – May 26 – Fayetteville, NC to Ashland, VA

There’s something magical about staying at the host hotel. Seeing all your buddies and talking about the stories of the day or relaxing with a cold one with your platoon mates. To others, staying at the host hotel may be a little hell on earth. No close place to park, long check-in lines, card keys that don’t work that you need go back down the elevator carrying all your gear, and cut back in line to get them remagnetized (I think I just invented a new word there). There’s an endless number of things that work against you checking into a hotel that are multiplied at host hotels, so some avoid them. I’m beginning to think they might be the smart ones, but I’ll let you be the judge.

We left Fayetteville and headed for the Falcon Children’s Home. Falcon is a private school that cares for children that have not been successful in the public school system, it’s also a home for school age unwed mothers and those who are awards of the state. Teachers, faculty and children are doing remarkable things at this school, where doors are now open to them that would otherwise have been closed. I think it’s the very special teachers that work with these very special children. We are all alike in the eyes of God.

The children here at Falcon’s provided an excellent program for us. Starting with colors and the National Anthem performed by the choir leader on his trumpet. The choir also sung America the Beautiful. There were some presentations by Bandit and the principal, Mr. Leggett and Hawk had a few words for us and for the children. Then the senior class members were all given certificates from Run For The wall. After this a challenge coin designed by the school was presented to each member of Run For The Wall. What a great gift we were all treated to. The Colors were retired, benediction offered and as we left the school, the children lined the parking lot waving and cheering goodbye to us. Why do they love us so much? Us whom they don’t even know? Is it because of who they think we stand for? Are we who they think we are? God help us be deserving of their love and help us be who they think we are. We most assuredly love these children. We will be back again next year. Count on that.

We next headed to lunch at the Shiloh Pentecostal Church. We received a very warm welcome. Have you ever seen an ice chest filled with spaghetti? How about two? Well we did and it was really good with extra sauce in pitchers to put on top if you wanted more as well as plenty of deserts. So from lunch, we were headed to our fuel stop (the last of the mission) and then to dinner under local LEO escort to the Moose Lodge in Hopewell, VA.

Hopewell. What a wonderful, loving and caring place. I think I’d like to move here. I know, I said that about a few other places already, but it’s true. The people at the Moose Lodge were so nice to us. They spent all day preparing food and arranging tables and chairs for us. First they welcomed us inside the air-conditioned building and gave us water and iced tea, sweet tea, lemonade and water. We were quickly all inside and seated. Soon a children’s choir from Tussing Elementary School Third Grade was singing a medley of songs about veterans and how they are so appreciated. Finally they sang “Thank You Soldiers”. A song they recorded years ago. It’s quite popular on YouTube. Check this URL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pfBUUZNbFM I don’t know if there was a dry eye in the place, I couldn’t see to check. Afterward, we stood and applauded. We were all touched, just like each of the three years before this. This song still gets to us all as sung by these children grateful for soldiers and all military. Dinner followed. I wasn’t really hungry after eating a mess of spaghetti, so I sat at my table and browsed through pictures I’d taken on my phone. I had some really good ones. As I continued, I came across my dad’s Navy picture. It took me back. My dad passed in ’99. I took my Missing Man ride with him my FNG year in 2012. I felt it a high honor to ride with him by my side. I miss him. As I sat thinking about him, I reflected on this year’s Run and realized after tomorrow’s visit to the USMC Museum in Quantico, VA we ride to the hotel and the Run is over with only a wake up for the festivities on Saturday. It was a sad feeling and I teared up a little. I think my dad would be proud I participate in Run For The Wall. I love you dad. RIP Gunner’s Mate, USS Colorado BB-45, February 1937 to March 1941.

After dinner and presentations, the quilt made out of a single pair of Diesel’s britches was raffled off. Guess whose name got pulled, yep Diesel’s. Someone called him on the phone so we could all hear his reaction. Bandit said, “You won your britches back”. Diesel laughed. $1570 was collected for this quilt. Now Diesel will get his own britches back, in a better form than when he wore them.

Next was the anticipated time to hand out the coveted zip ties for entering Arlington on Saturday. FNGs were called up by state where they began the Run. Hawk tried to sneak in line, but got caught. Sorry Hawk, only FNGs get to enter Arlington. All FNGs got a zip tie this time. In another couple years, some may get turned away. We had 167 FNGs with us this time on the Midway Route. We hope to get many more in years to come.

**** Number of names on The Wall for Virginia (1305), from Ashland, VA (2) ****

Day 9 is in the books. Tomorrow the final leg.

We Ride For Those That Can’t

Tom “Twotone” Lystrup – Platoon 6 Leader / SitRep Writer / lystruptf@gmail.com
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